Muggle Studies
by Lady-Ravenhawk
Summary: When the Dark Lord fell, she was shunned by the magical community, unwanted by family and sent overseas to the only people who would take her - a childless muggle couple. Now, 12 years later, she finds herself back in a world she turned away from, educating the children of those who betrayed her, teaching the only subject she's suited to teach - Muggle Studies.


Heavy, warm air rustled the lightweight brown curtains as it blew through the open window of the little white house, bringing with it the distant sounds of thunder. The big white German Shepherd who lay on the living room floor raised his head and whined at his owner, who sat cross-legged on the squashy couch, her nose inches above a thick, old cookbook.

"It's just some rain, Axl," she said absently, never tearing her eyes away from the pages before her. Lynn Addams never let herself get too worked up over something simple like a storm. In fact, she rather enjoyed them. The calming sound of the rain, the smell of the earth afterwards, the gentle rolling thunder – all of it powerful, yet gentle at the same time and necessary for life.

Lynn always considered herself a practical woman – she liked the common and the ordinary. She appreciated things made by hand and objects that served a purpose. And she believed in being prepared for anything because she knew all too well how quickly ones life could be torn to pieces and completely rearranged. She kept her pantry and medicine cabinets well stocked, her house neat as a pin, and her animals well fed.

As the first drops of rain began to fall, she sighed and shoved a scrap of paper into the cookbook, marking her place, and walked quickly through the house and out into the rather tiny backyard. The small flock of chickens she kept there were already inside their small coop and she quickly snapped the door shut to keep the wind and rain out.

"Good night, ladies," she cooed to them and turned to look up at the darkening sky. She blinked at the few drops of cool rain that hit her face as the wind picking up her fiery red curls. She inhaled deeply, drinking in the scent of the rain. Without warning, the sky let loose a torrent of rain and an ear-splitting crack rent the evening air. Fear pierced her like a stab of ice. That sound… She hadn't heard a sound like that in twelve years. But, no, it couldn't be. It was the storm. She slicked her rain-soaked hair out of her face and ran through the now muddy yard, her bare feet becoming spotted with black flecks of mud.

Wrenching open the kitchen door, she threw herself inside and slammed it behind her. She sighed, leaning against the door, then laughed. How silly, mistaking the thunder for a completely different sound. She shook her head and gathered up the end of her long skirt and wiped the rain from her face with it.

It was only after she had washed her feet and returned to the living room that she began to feel nervous again. There had been no other loud cracks of thunder except for that one. It didn't seem right. She could still hear the storm rolling in and the thunder was still soft sounding and several miles away.

Axl looked up at her again and gave another soft whine.

"Oh shut up," she told him. "You're being ridiculous."

Ridiculous. She shook the word from her head. It sounded far too much like… well, she didn't even want to think about it. Those memories, that past, were nearly half a life-time ago and on the other side of the globe. She hadn't thought about it in a long time and she wasn't going to start now.

She plopped herself down on the flat gray carpet of her living room and pulled the cookbook back into her lap. The tomatoes in her garden were beginning to ripen and she wanted to start her canning soon. She was well accomplished at it, but every season she always reread the recipes and procedure, ensuring that she wouldn't forget even the tiniest detail.

A flash of lightning cracked across the sky and the wind picked up, blowing the rain through the window and she hurried to shut it. Something caught her eye through the blurry, rain-soaked windowpane. A man, standing on the sidewalk, was considering her house. She tilted her head to the left and squinted her eyes, but he was gone. Shaking her head again, she turned and knelt next to the big dog, running her fingers through his soft fur. He nudged her knee with his nose and flopped on his side, asking for a tummy scratch.

A knock at the door made her jump. Axl rolled to his feet and growled. Still in her crouching position, she wrapped her fingers around the grip of the pistol she always carried on her hip. She stood slowly and cautiously made her way across the living room to the front door. She unlocked the door with her left hand, the right one still on the pistol, and pulled the door open a few inches, leaving the chain lock in place.

Standing on her covered front porch, looking perfectly dry, was an elderly man with glasses and a long, silver beard. He wore deep purple robes with golden star-bursts embroidered on them and a pointed hat to match.

Lynn's breath caught in her throat and her heart hammered in her chest. No. No, no, no, they couldn't have found her here. Not now. Not after all this time.

"I don't want any!" she shouted through the screen door that remained firmly closed.

"Miss Ellowyn, I wish to speak with you," came the elderly man's kind voice.

Ellowyn. No one had called her that in years. This had to be a bad dream. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, wishing for the man to simply disappear.

"Do you not have a moment for your old school headmaster?"

Heaving a sigh, Lynn unlocked the chain lock and slowly opened the door, facing a man she hadn't seen in a very long time.

Albus Dumbledore looked very much the same as he had twelve years ago. He still wore the half-moon glasses, his beard was just as long as it had been, and his blue eyes still had that stare that seemed to look deep into your soul and make you question every word out of your own mouth.

"Hello, headmaster," she said softly and pushed open the screen door to allow him to enter her house, dropping her hand from the grip on her gun.

"Thank you," he smiled as he stepped across the threshold.

Lynn grudgingly pulled the screen door shut and closed the main door.

"To what do I owe this… er… pleasant surprise?" she forced out.

Dumbledore stood for a moment, appreciating the carefully decorated living room. The "Live, Laugh, Love" plaques on the wall, the overly large clock that actually told time, the non-moving photographs… it was all perfectly normal. Perfectly Muggle.

"You do a good job of hiding who you are," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

It sounded like a compliment, but somehow she doubted it. Yet she'd never known the headmaster to be insincere.

"Yeah, well, spend twelve years with 'em, you learn," she said. "So, why are you here?"

"We have an opening for a teaching position and I believe you would be perfect for it," Dumbledore stated, turning to her and smiling warmly.

Lynn jerked her head back and blinked at him in surprise. "Me? A teacher? Headmaster, I'm not suited to teach anything at Hogwarts. Especially not if it's that damned Defense Against the Dark Arts job. I never even finished school there."

Dumbledore chuckled. "No, no. We have an opening to teach Muggle Studies. Professor Burbage is out on maternity leave and we need a replacement."

Lynn considered his words for a moment. There was no way she was leaving her house, her perfect, tiny, muggle house, and going back to the magical world. She forced a small smile and said politely as she could, "I appreciate the thought, Professor, but I really can't. I have far too many responsibilities here."

"Such as?" he asked.

"My animals, my job…"

"You work for yourself, do you not? Surely you could take the year to come and teach at Hogwarts. Your business will still be here when you return. And if you're concerned for your animals, I'm certain you will find the ground at Hogwarts more than accommodating. Hagrid surely wouldn't mind taking on a few extra."

She blinked at him again. He knew about her work-from-home job? "How do you-?" but she stopped herself. This was Dumbledore. He knew everything.

His eyes twinkled as if reading her thoughts.

She decided to drop the professional, polite act. She wasn't a child anymore and didn't have to answer to anyone, not even her old headmaster. "Dumbledore, I'll be honest with you. I have no interest in going back. Ever."

Dumbledore's expression turned more serious. "Surely you see through my ruse. This is more than procuring a teacher for the school. This is about your safety."

"My safety?" she scoffed. "I'm perfectly safe here. I have a gun, I have a dog…" she trailed off. "Where's Axl?" She looked frantically around the room.

Axl was more than a pet. He was a trained guard dog and had a penchant for attacking anyone who entered her home. Everything she owned served a purpose. Yet there he was, lounging on the couch, watching Dumbledore with a lazy interest. He hadn't so much as made a sound since the old wizard had entered the house.

"Traitor," she hissed at the dog. She sighed. "What do I have to be worried about anyway?"

"Surely you've heard about the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban?" Dumbledore asked.

There it was again. That horrible, nerve shattering ice feeling. Sirius Black had escaped? How was that possible? No one was supposed to be able to escape from Azkaban.

"There's no way," she argued in disbelief.

"There is a way, and he found it," Dumbledore said soberly. "So you can see the peril you are placing yourself in by staying here."

"Why would he travel all this way, though?" she asked. "I'm half-way across the world. Surely he couldn't travel all the way to the states to find me."

"Who can predict the actions of a mad-man?" Dumbledore countered.

Mad-man. Despite her loathing of Black, the words hurt. Angry tears welled up in her eyes as a flood of memories washed over her. She never wanted to go back. Why would she? Everyone in the magical community despised her and the feeling was mutual. That's why she'd changed her name and her looks and vowed to never leave the Midwestern United States.

"So by your logic, I'd be safer by moving closer to the man who destroyed so many lives? Destroyed MY life?" she snapped.

"There is no safer place than Hogwarts," Dumbledore replied simply.

"No!" she shouted. "Dumbledore, no. I'm not going back. I like my life here just the way it is."

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "And how long do you expect it to stay this way? You cannot hide from your past forever. It will find you again."

She shook her head angrily, her lips pressed to a thin line. A muscle was working in her jaw as she glanced around her living room. She didn't want to give up her home, her life, and everything she'd worked for. Yet she couldn't fight the feelings of fear and worry that were swelling inside her. She knew the things Dumbledore said were true.

"I just… I can't…" she threw herself on the couch and stroked the dog's fur miserably. "Surely the Ministry of Magic will find him soon?"

"Oh, I doubt that," Dumbledore answered. "Black is an incredibly clever man. If you had spent so many years in that prison, would you be careless enough to be captured again so easily?"

"I'd never do anything heartless enough to land myself there in the first place," she snipped bitterly.

A small smile pulled at Dumbledore's lips. "Well, yes, we know that."

Lynn scrubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I suppose I don't have much choice, do I?"

"You certainly do have a choice," Dumbledore said. "We always have a choice. But I'm hoping you will make the smart one."

She sighed heavily and looked at the dog on the couch. He raised his head and tipped it to the side as he looked at her. "Whaddya say, Axl? Should we go?"

He thumped his tail at her.

"Traitor," she whispered again. She looked back to Dumbledore, who appeared to be fighting the urge to laugh. "You Imperiused my dog to conspire against me."

"I would never do such a thing," he answered innocently, the amused expression still upon his face.

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll come teach at Hogwarts. But I'm going as Lynn Addams and not a word is to be said about my real name."

"Of course," Dumbledore answered. "School doesn't start until September, however, I would certainly advise you to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible. You want time to get settled in."

"Before Sirius finds me," she answered. "I know, I know."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said and clapped his hands together once. "I shall give you a few days to get your affairs in order and then we will arrange your transportation."

"All right. Thanks, Dumbledore," she said, but she didn't exactly feel thankful.

She escorted him to the front door and waved as he walked out into the pouring rain, blinking in disbelief as he disappeared in a whirl of purple and gold robes.

Axl wandered out onto the covered porch and nudged Lynn's hand.

"I hope you realize what you've gotten us into," she grumbled at him.


End file.
